Monday, December 8, 2014

To anyone who even still reads my blog: I feel as though you deserve a medal of honor. The fact that I still get new followers both here and on Bloglovin' each week truly astonishes and tickles my heart in all the right ways. Thank you all for sticking with me and three cheers to (fingers crossed) much more fulfilling blog posts and written product reviews in the future!

Until then, here are my two newest videos for those of you who may have missed them. The first is a collective haul full of raves and rants galore and the second is my monthly installment of "Best & Worst of Beauty". Regardless of whether you've watched them already or are just about to I hope you enjoy and that the holiday season has been treating you well~

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Phewfta!! Sorry for yet another large dumping of videos (alongside another large empty absence here on the blog front)… but here's what I've been up to the past couple of weeks! Lots of editing videos together amidst the end-of-semester-school-madness, flu-as-neverending-as-my-snot, and weather as dreary as my soul. Dang, that got real dark real quick huh? My apologies.

I hope you all are resting up, eating lots, and overall staying happy and healthy this holiday season! If you need a break from family/work/school though I've definitely got you covered with some videos… you know, if you haven't seen any recently (perfectly okay). Enjoy ღˇ◡ˇ(ᵕ꒶̮ᵕෆ

Thank goodness, so is the adorable level of these nails; let's reminisce about them and lazy summer days together, shall we?

I'm a huge fan of the Revlon ColorStay polishes (the brush is wide and flat, the polish is creamy and opaque, etc.) so, when I saw they made a gel version of the formula I was pretty freaking pumped to say the least. I decided to try out "Dealer's Choice", a shimmering aqua-teal, but I'm bummed to say I wasn't as impressed with the formula as its predecessor. It's a bit thicker (read: gloopier) so I struggled to get it to not bubble on my nails. Application issues didn't end there though because the dry time ended up being excruciatingly long; it's one of those polishes that feels dry but then, two or three hours later, you bump your nail against something and there's a big dent in the polish.

So, to remedy the formula flaws (the polish was too gorgeous in terms of color to take off) I decided to whip out a bobby pin and put daisies over the bubbly bits! Genius if I do say so myself *guffaw*. Five white dots, one pale yellow in the center, and then—for an extra bit of girly glitz—I plopped a gold piece of glitter in the centers as well.

I honestly thought this manicure was adorable; the little addition of a sparkly gold center on the daisies was what really added the d'awww to this otherwise simple and seen-before design in my eyes. Loved it! Even if my initial feelings while painting my nails that day was less than so.

Have you tried the Revlon ColorStay Gel Envy polishes?
Did you have the same bad experience with the formula as I did?
What's creative fixes have you come up with for nail polish blunders?
Do share!

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

To say I've been ashamed of my blog this semester is an understatement, especially these past few weeks. The fact that I'm only here to do another YouTube update (rather than solve the problem and write an actual blog post) just brings further shame upon my soul. I wish I had an excuse other than "life has been busy" but… well, it's the truth! Midterms just passed by and preparation for my thesis in the spring has finally gotten into full swing aka PANIC-STRESS-OVERLOAD. Not to mention the lack of sleep. Ughhhh the lack of sleep has been so real this month.

Regardless, I just wanted to pop in here on the ol'blog and share my two latest videos with you all! Both of them were "YouTube Made Me Buy It!" purchases so at least that was a bit of fun for me during these hectic, anxiety inducing weeks; happy freaking holidays, amiright (at least I haven't lost my sense of humor)?

Friday, October 17, 2014

In case you missed either of them, here are my two latest YouTube videos! One of them is all about how to use the water decals from the Born Pretty Store (I've done multiple blog posts on them before but figured a video would be a nice addition) while the other is an installment of my OOTW series. If you end up watching either of them, I hope you enjoy; have a wonderful weekend everyone :)

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

I don't think you guys understand how behind I am on blog posts… okay that's a total load of bull to make myself feel better. Y'all are probably beyond aware of how behind I am considering I just about never write legitimate posts these days. Photos are still taken of my nails and various makeup products I'm testing out, but getting around to editing those photos and reviewing the products? Hahahhahaha. Especially when, now that I'm finally doing a 'proper' review of some goodies, it's going to be far from proper at all; I've tried out most of these things but have yet to put some of them to the test of real-world-wear.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

It's definitely been up for quite awhile now but I figured—juuuuuuuust in case you missed it—I would let the blogger world know that I reviewed the Too Faced La Crème Color Drenched Lipsticks over on my YouTube channel! I had been dying to try out this line of lipsticks since they first came out (years ago?) but waited until recently to nab some when they were on super sale; a $22 lipstick on sale for $8 is something I absolutely cannot pass up (can you blame me???).

If you want to find out what I think of them then just watch the video linked above!! I'll eventually do a proper blog post with swatches of the other colors but, since you can be sure it'll be at least a little while until that happens (I'm sorry, feel free to blame grad school [you know I do]), know that Google is a wonderful thing and there are TONS of swatches of them out there already (˃̴◡ुؔ՞ઁ)♡⃛

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

It's been up for a few days now but I figured, in case you missed it, I would let all of you lovelies in the blogger world know that I posted a video (FREAKING FINALLY) showing how to create three looks with the NAKED3 palette! I had mentioned doing this exact video when I hauled the darn thing last Christmas but

alas—I'm a flake and find filming tutorials difficult so I put it off until now hahaha (at least I'm honest).

So, without further ado: here's the promised tutorial! I hope you enjoy the looks I put together; the first two I wear extremely often and truly do think that this is a great palette overall. The predominantly pink shades make the NAKED3 quite special amongst the plethora of other nude palettes on the market and this green eyed girl appreciates it!!

Thursday, October 2, 2014

I figure it's about time for me to review this little sample of MUFE's Smoky Extravagant Mascara (it's the one that came in my/the birthday kit Sephora is giving out this year) since a.) I first reviewed—and never followed up on—it a month ago in a "Best & Worst of Beauty" (B&WOB) video and, b.) my little tube is just about finished. May as well write about my makeup feels while they're fresh, even if the makeup is anything but at this point, amiright?

I stand by my initial statement in that B&WOB video that, upon first sight, this mascara wand is like seeing a horse with an erection. WOW. There's really just no other way to describe it; it's long, thick, and tapers to a point… see what I'm saying? The comparison is about as horrendous as it is perfect.

Until you see the ridiculous thing next to an eyeball though I feel like you may not quite understand:

Whabam! Immense. And quite frightening; even after using the MUFE Smoky Extravagant Mascara for as long as I have I still get a little twitchy when I bring the wand up near my eyes. Granted I get over the fear real quick because I know how magnificent this mascara makes my lashes look. It lengthens, thickens, and just overall intensifies the look of your lashes without (for the most part) making a clumpy mess.

The only real downfall, aside from the monstrous wand and my inability to be mature about it, is that the mascara tends to get smudged on my eyelids during application. No matter how careful I am while dragging the wand through my lashes it's just too darn big and cumbersome to avoid lid contact if I want to get to the root of my lashes. Even now that the mascara is nearly all dried up I still can't seem to get a clean application; I get over it though because, as I've said, this mascara from MUFE makes my lashes look freaking fantastic.

Sadness that this little tube of mine is almost out! Tears for the lack of money in my bank account! But no worries about mascara running down my face because even though this sample isn't waterproof, it sure does act like it. For the month or so that I've been using the MUFE Smoky Extravagant Mascara, never have I ever ran into problems with flaking, smudging, or general pain from mascara mixing with my watery eyes. Pretty freaking spectacular if you ask me! Plus there's the fact that it's virtually weightless so the curl to my lashes stays perky throughout the day, refusing to wilt along with my mental alertness (homegirl would take a nap every day if she could).

Have you tried the MUFE Smoky Extravagant Mascara?

Love it? Hate it?

What's your favorite high end mascara; one that's so good you don't care about the price?

Saturday, September 27, 2014

It's everybody's favorite time of month: monthly favorites time!! Was that sentence as annoying for you to read as it was for me to type? I love a good pun and everything but that was just… blech.

Regardless, it really is that point in the month where everyone is going to be uploading/sharing their favorite beauty products for September; if you're interested in seeing what I've been loving (and loving not so much) then feel free to check out my pyramid style "Best & Worst of Beauty" video linked above!

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Because I'm an absolute goob and can't seem to keep a promise to be "back" on my blog, I'm just going to stop apologizing and hope you all are okay with my terribly infrequent/unpredictable posts and updates. I really am so sorry about it but with grad school and my jobs… I just can't always keep the ol' blog running smoothly like I can at other points of the year. Hopefully you can forgive me; I'm beyond grateful for those of you who stick around!

For anyone who hasn't seen it yet, I uploaded a video over on my YouTube channel reviewing the NYX Macaron Lippie "Lavender". It was incredibly outside of my comfort zone but fun to try out nonetheless! I hope you enjoy the awkwardness if you take the time to watch the video :)

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Sorry for the lack of updates this past week everyone, things have just been so busy lately! With school and my teaching job starting up again in tandem—along with my ever-present retail job on the side—I've been a bit strapped for time. I have, however, been able to (somehow) keep up with making videos for my YouTube channel so feel free to stop by and subscribe if you want to see my face a little more often!!

Thanks so much for your patience and support; I hope you're having a wonderful weekend~

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Got questions for me that you've always wanted answered?? Well hesitate no more! To celebrate reaching 10,000 subscribers on my YouTube channel (I don't think I'll ever be able to say that without my shedding a few glittering maiden tears in my soul) I figured I would do a Q&A video since it's so highly requested. Feel free to head on over and leave a comment with any question you may have (please be reasonable [read: don't be lewd]) and I'll be sure to answer it in an upcoming video!

Thank you so much for your continuous love and support; it really does mean the world to me and I appreciate the ever living crap out of you for enjoying my videos <3

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Happy weekend everyone!! I hope you're all enjoying it so far; even though I'm spending my days working (as per usual) at my retail job I'm beyond excited over the cool down weather-wise. Bring on the pants and sweaters! Adios to only being able to wear black because every other color shows the sweat dripping down my back! Bye-bye air conditioning bill! I'm just… ugh. Beyond.

Anyways, I posted a new video over on my YouTube channel the other day so feel free to check it out if you haven't already! It has nothing to do with the above chitchat but, well, you know. Hopefully you'll find it enjoyable nonetheless.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Ever been curious to have a nosy around my vanity aka the place where I stockpile all of my beauty items? Well then you're in luck because I just recently posted a video giving a tour of the space on my YouTube channel!

Super exciting; super long; super embarrassing.

While I know my collection is modest compared to some of the big beauty names out on YouTube, it's definitely also not a 'normal' amount of makeup to own (hoard) either. But oh well… that's life I guess! We've all got our vices and makeup/beauty items happens to be mine. If you haven't seen the video yet and you'd like to then feel free to have a gander. If you do, as always, I hope you enjoy~

Monday, September 8, 2014

Welp, it's officially every student's least favorite time of the year: time to get back to the daily grind; back to the cornucopia of emotions occupying your every orifice 24/7; back to self-deprecation at its finest; time to go back to school. And, in true-to-Cassie-fashion, I'm clearly back at it… didn't I just proclaim that I was going to get back into regular blogging? Wasn't my last 'real' post a week ago now? Aren't I always saying how tiresome I am for only posting about freaking nail polish???

I'm so annoyed with myself.

I'm also tired (even though we're only a week into the new semester; yikes).

Let's look at the pretty polish to make ourselves feel better, shall we?

I've said it a million times before and I'll say it a million times again: Forever21 makes, quite possibly, the best milky glitter polishes out there. And for only $2.80 a bottle? SOLD. I am such a happy customer (and have the cutest looking nails 'ta boot).

"Purple Confetti" is a gorgeously muted lavender cream with baby pink, blue, and silver glitter laced throughout. In terms of the 'too much glitter'/'not enough glitter' spectrum I'd say this polish leans a little on the glitter heavy side but, let's be honest, I'm the last person to complain about a bit of extra sparkle. When you put two or three layers of the polish on your nails it gives a good illusion of depth and really creates a nice contrast between the milky lavender base and sometimes-matte-sometimes-sparkly pieces of glitter (depending on how buried in polish they are [or aren't]).

Overall: it's love. I just can't get over how endearing the glitter polishes from Forever21 are. "Purple Confetti" is particularly whimsical and makes all of the bad-back-to-school-feelings seem a bit less potent.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Just stopping in real quick to tell anyone interested that I posted my monthly "Best & Worst of Beauty" pyramid over on my YouTube channel! So, if you're like the rest of the online beauty community and enjoy a good roundup of cosmetics, feel free to watch my video linked above. As always, I hope you enjoy (and happy back-to-school week for lots of fellow students out there!)~

Thursday, August 28, 2014

***Just putting it out there: the nail stickers were sent to me for review under the condition of a 100% honest review from me. I'm not receiving any money to write this post and, as always, would never lie to you all. None of the links below are affiliate links; I'll never exploit you like that! :)

When the Born Pretty Store contacted me to review more of their nail products (I wrote about a few different sets of their water decals here and here) I decided I would try something a little wacky; something a little out of my comfort zone; something…realistic-bunnies-that-glow-in-the-dark.

Yup, that's right: I picked out this set of nail stickers with huge bunny faces on them that also happen to have the ability to make their presence known in the night while they watch you sleep.

Not going to lie, some of these bunnies scare me—particularly the white ones with red eyes. The day those end up on my nails may be the day all hell freezes over but hey, to each their own. Personally I think the black and white bunnies are quite dapper (especially the pair with bow ties) and were quite charming on the nails, especially with the addition of pastel garden-esque colors and glitter surrounding them. Because floral and glitter make everything less scary, amiright? I'd like to think so anyways.

Considering these are the first nail stickers I've ever used, I was really pleased with how easy they were to apply. The material was fairly plush and almost gel like in texture so they easily bent around the curvature of my nails. I had to trim the stickers to fit my cuticles before applying them (I feel like that's pretty standard though, right?) but other than that you just slap them on over a base coat, file away the excess from the tips of the nails, and then apply a top coat.

For the sake of review (scientific-knowledge-reasons) I decided to not put a top coat over one of the stickers to see how it lasted on its own. To my surprise it actually lasted just as long (I removed the manicure after 5 days purely because I wanted a change, not because of major chips or wear) as the bunnies who received a healthy dose of Seche Vite! So really you can't do wrong with these, I just personally prefer the extra shiny look of my top coat.

You can see that the print of these nail stickers is a bit 'fuzzier' than it appears on the site, but honestly it didn't really make much of a difference to me. The bunnies are clearly recognizable and there's no question that I've got critters on my nails. At first I had no idea how I was going to make huge realistic bunny faces work on my nails but, with the addition of some floral rhinestones (I got the wheel off of ebay ages ago for about a dollar) and the quirky combo of Revlon's "Whimsical" over "Jaded", I think this manicure ended up being super cute. A little out there, yes, but fantastical all the same.

As always, if you're interested in trying out some things from the Born Pretty Store (their selection of nail products really is top-notch if you're into cute decals and the like) then please feel free to use the discount code RIFW10 when you checkout to get 10% off! I love saving you lovely people some money where I can.